Electrochemically induced multicomponent assembling of isatins, 4-hydroxyquinolin-2(1H)-one and malononitrile: a convenient and efficient way to functionalized spirocyclic [indole-3,4′-pyrano[3,2-c]quinoline] scaffold

Electrochemically induced catalytic multicomponent transformation of isatins, 4-hydroxyquinolin-2(1H)-one and malononitrile in ethanol in an undivided cell in the presence of sodium bromide as an electrolyte results in the formation of spirooxindoles with fused functionalized indole-3,4′-pyrano[3,2-c]quinoline] scaffold in 75–91% substance yields and 500-600% current yield. The developed efficient electrocatalytic approach to medicinally relevant [indole-3,4′-pyrano[3,2-c]quinoline] scaffold is beneficial from the viewpoint of diversity-oriented large-scale processes and represents a novel example of facile environmentally benign synthetic concept for electrocatalytic multicomponent reactions.